Behind the Scenes: The Making of a Faerie House Story Book

 It is impossible to know where an idea begins. With the faerie house stories I start with an event like back-to-school or a holiday. I have made a treasure trove of small things. 

And I have a file of "supplies" I use to photoshop interior scenes.

Development of the story starts with rough story line, followed by some photos to support that story idea which becomes a storyboard.

Then I write it on the blog. The script changes as I go along and I do not need to worry about pagination.

 After that I figure out if a page can have a photo and text or if they need to be on separate pages. I do a layout plan so I know what pages will be open together. I also need to know how many pages there will be. Then I know how many signatures (collections of sheets of paper - 4 is max) there will be, and if they will have 3 or 4 sheets. 

I cannot do the layout of pages without my little numbered pages.  

For the above layout, the story board page 16 goes on the left side of the paper; and what goes on page 1 is on the left side. Pages 2 (on the left) and 15 (on the right) will be printed on the other side of the same sheet of paper. It can get confusing to keep track of, but my little dummy pages help a lot. I also don't make as many mistakes printing anymore, having had considerable practice. 

Here are the printed sheets, and the cut and folded signatures.

I make the front and back covers.

I sew the book together.

When the bottom signature is sewn on, I add the top signature and the front cover. 

The finished books.

Eid at the Faerie House

 This story is especially for S and A. 

T1 had heard lots about Dog researching on-line during the winter and thought there were a few things T1 very much wanted to learn about. Some friends of the faerie house do something called Ramadan and they celebrate Eid. T1 thought it was time to find out about that. 

Ramadan, the month of fasting from sun-up to sun-down, sounded hard to T1. Hibernation during winter was one thing, but fasting in any other season wouldn't be easy for a reptile. 

Eid is a festival celebrated at the end of Ramadan. T1 was all in on making a festival. The tricky thing about Eid is that the exact day isn't known until someone in authority sees the new moon. T1 decided to wait to see how that happened. There were things to be planned and ordered in the meantime.  

A few days later, while T1 was learning more about Eid and how one breaks the fast by eating dates (T1 had never had dates), T1 heard the sound of deliveries at the door. 

Sure enough, there were some large boxes outside the door labelled:

    Faerie House

    Big Tree

    Omi's yard

T1 unpacked the smallest box. It contained the lanterns.

T1 sat very still and thought warm, loving thoughts. That's how you invite faeries.

"Faeries," T1 said quietly, with closed eyes, "I need your help hanging these lanterns."

After a deep breath, T1 looked around. The lanterns were hanging from the ceiling and looked absolutely beautiful. 

T1 was happy to see Frog come in. Frog is the best cook of all the friends. T1 explained about the Eid festival and how food is a big part of it. This got Frog on board.

"Do you think you could learn how to make biryani?" T1 asked. "I found a recipe on a website that looks good."

"Oh yes!" said Frog. "I will look at that right away and make a grocery list. Dog and Hedgehog can do some shopping."

T1 went outside to open another box. Inside this box was some garland to hang on the outside of the faerie house.

"This will be nice!" thought T1.

The last box was VERY heavy. T1 knew what that was. Gold is very heavy. T1 had to wrestle the box onto its side so T1 could open it. T1 cut the tape with a pocket knife and the rocks spilled out. T1 had to scurry out of the way!

"How grand!" said T1. "We are going to have a beautiful Eid!"

As T1 was thinking about where the rocks should go, Dog and Hedgehog returned from the grocery store. Dog was carrying a heavy bag of rice and Hedgehog had a bag filled with dates.

"We got everything you asked for," they said together, then looked around. "Wow, this stuff is very impressive!"

Frog was busy cooking. T2 was helping, believe it or not. 

Dog and Hedgehog helped T1 hoist, shove and place the rocks. 

T1 was very particular.

The garland was another big job. Teamwork got that job done. 

They stood back and admired their work.

"I have one more thing," said T1.

T1, Dog and Hedgehog moved a silhouette of a mosque into place.

They felt satisfied and delighted. They went inside to see how the biryani making was going. 

The evening was quiet. Then the news came that the new moon had been seen. The festival could begin the next day.

The next morning the friends gathered to share a bowl of dates. It was unusual for them to eat together in the morning, and none of them had eaten dates before. 

"I like these," said T2. "Be careful not to eat the pits."

T1 had one final festival surprise: a bright ribbon for each friend to wear, like new clothes. It took them awhile, even though they helped each other, to get the ribbons tied on. They looked great. They headed outside.

When they got outside they saw what the faeries had added.  Eid Mubarak! On with the feast!

Hedgehog laid out a table cloth. Frog and T2 brought out the plates of biryani. It smelled really good!

They sat in a circle. There was an extra plate, ready for an unexpected visitor. Being generous is part of Eid.   

They ate until they were full. Then they relaxed together. Dog built a fire to keep the chill off the evening. 

Hedgehog turned to T1 and said, "Thank you for all your research and planning for this Eid celebration. I have learned so much and it has been fun. 

Eventually it got dark. In Edmonton in April, it isn't dark until 9:30.

"Do you think the faeries will join us?" asked T2.

"Perhaps they are still busy," said Frog (with some intuition about what might happen next).

A moment later, lights started to twinkle around the friends and the faerie house.

"Ahhh, yes.....here they are," said T2.

In one voice, the friends said together, "EID MUBARAK"

Birds in the Hall

 When I visited my husband at his new office and saw the long hall with exposed pipes I knew it was an excellent location to hang my magazine birds. I just had to make more birds. Today we hung them. There are 18: 15 magazine birds and 3 (Queen's Quarterly) hummingbirds. 

First the layout:

Here are a few individuals:

The hummingbirds:

The hallway:

In motion:

Happy Easter from the Faerie House

Dog and Hedgehog had enjoyed a lovely few weeks in each other's company. Dog had moved Nefertiti and Tutankhamen outside. The friends needed the room inside now, and quite frankly, Hedgehog was a bit unnerved by the large statues.

The temperatures in Edmonton had been above 0 for quite a few days. On a recent day, while Dog and Hedgehog were discussing Easter, they heard a rustling sound from the corner. Soon after, T1 came up through the dirt floor. 

"Hello, hello!" Dog and Hedgehog chimed.

Now 2 friends were 3 friends.

Ever the carer, Dog asked, "Are you hungry, T1?"

Not everyone leads with the stomach, but that is Dog's way. 

Dog put together a quick salad because turtles like green food. By now Dog had talked so much to Hedgehog that Dog could be a little more restrained with the very quiet and shy, not to mention groggy, T1. 

The next day Hedgehog was the first to see Frog emerging from under a wool blanket.

"It's so nice to see all of you here," said Frog, looking around, "only T2 is missing."

Now 3 friends were 4 friends.

"I have a dried fly for you Frog, if you would like," offered Dog. "It isn't great, but I didn't know when you would be coming back."

They settled in together. Dog told a shorter story about being alone for a few months, and very quietly said, "There are some new statues in the yard that I hope you will like."

With that, they decided to go outside and have a look.

In the meantime, T2 had returned and was basking in the sun in front of the faerie house.

Dog went out first. Dog looked over at Nefertiti and wondered what Frog would think.

It was Hedgehog who saw T2.

"T2!" exclaimed Hedgehog. "When did you get here?"

"Oh, just a short time ago," said T2. "The sun felt so warm that I started to feel everything stirring. I crawled out from under the leaves to see the world." 

Now 4 friends were 5 friends. They were happy to be reunited.

They all enjoyed the sunshine and each other's company. The little things that rub were forgotten. They looked around the faerie house yard, remembering the fun times. 

"Did something shift out there?" Frog asked. "It suddenly seems greener to me."

"The moss does seem brighter," Hedgehog observed.

"There are some green leaves that weren't here before," Dog added, "and I can smell thyme."

"It's the faeries," said T1 quietly. "They know we are all back together again and they are happy too."

T2 said, "I see Easter eggs!"

Can you find 6 eggs?

"LOOK AT NEFERTITI !" exclaimed T1. "She has bunny ears and what lovely sparkle!"

"You too!" said Hedgehog. "But it seems sparkle is reserved for the Egyptian princess."

"Whoa! Look at YOU, Hedgehog!" said T1. "Bunny ears suit you!"

"Frog too!" said Dog.

In an instant Dog and T2 also had bunny ears. How did that happen? Sometimes life feels enchanted. 

"Hey, it's Easter," said T2. "Instead of hiding treats (do we have treats?), let's hide ourselves."

"Who will find us?" the others asked.

"Those people," said T2, pointing at you.

Can you find the 5 friends?

Happy Easter from the faerie house and the friends who live there. 

Life is renewed.